Mastering Presentations On Video Calls

Mastering presentations on a video call

Being a strong public speaker is critical for career success.?When giving a presentation, you want to ensure what you say is remembered. In a virtual world, it is no different. However, because the environment is now on video, not in person, there are a few nuances to consider to ensure you're speaking powerfully.?

At Soulcast Media, we pride ourselves on helping people with this skill. Especially because our Founder & CEO, Jessica Chen was a former Emmy-Award winning tv news reporter. Speaking powerfully and persuasively on camera is something she has perfected and is now teaching corporate teams this skill. Join our digital communications membership program to begin watching the videos for immediate improvement.

We've put together 4 strategies that can help you master presentations on video calls:?

1. Use Effective Language

As you prepare for your presentation, it is important you think about the words you use. In a virtual world, our attention span is much shorter. That's because we don't have the presence of being in a room to retain an audience's focus. What words you say can make a difference.?

So what does effective language look like?

Specific - Effective language is specific and not vague.?

Concise - If you can say it in fewer words - do it!

Accurate - When you give a powerful public speech you don't want there to be any discrepancies that might come up after the fact.

??We recommend the e-course "Writing Speeches" to help you write your speeches with effective language.

2. Incorporate Emotions

Sometimes it's not what you say but how you say it.?If you think back to speeches or presentations that gripped you from beginning to end, what was it they all had in common??Most likely there was a powerful emotional tug.

Even the most mundane topic can be exciting when presented with the right emotions.

There are a few ways you can incorporate appropriate emotions into your virtual presentations:

• Bring Your Personality - Your personality sets you apart from everyone else.?Use this to your advantage!?
• Tone of Voice ?- Your tone of voice can take your audience on an adventure. By varying your tone, you control the pace and mood of your presentation.?
• Storytelling - One of the biggest ways you can bring emotions into a virtual presentation is with a really good story.
• Body Language - Your hand gestures and posture is a powerful communications tool. As you craft your message, pay attention to where you can use body language to amp up emotion and emphasize a point.

Emotions are key to a powerful speech.?Make sure you are using them throughout your video presentation.?

3. Adapt To The Audience

Even if you have practiced your speech to the point that you have it memorized, you still will want to pay attention to your audience and adapt.?This skill is more difficult to learn as it takes a lot of practice and open-mindedness.

Gauge The Audience and Look For:

• Is your audience leaning forward or sitting relaxed?
• Are they nodding their heads?
• Do they laugh when appropriate?

These are ways to tell if your audience is with you or not.?If you notice that they aren't responding, you will need to quickly adapt your presentation.

Positive Body Language

Examples of positive body language include:

• Good eye contact
• Having an open posture?
• Hands in a relaxed state
• Good posture
• Smiling
• Head movement as you speak

Get Them To Engage

If you notice your audience is losing interest or not responding, try to prompt them. This can include:

• Posing a rhetorical question
• Asking a question and picking someone out of the audience to answer it.
• Vary your pitch
• Have a startling statistic at the ready

??We recommend the e-course "Writing And Delivering Speeches" to help you hone in on your audience and write a speech just for them.

4. Have A Dynamic Ending

How do you end your virtual presentation so it's memorable and impactful? At this point, you've taken your audience on a journey and now it's time to conclude with a dynamic ending.?You will want to end your presentation with a statement that your audience can take with them and will remember. This can include:

Have A Call To Action - When you end your presentation with a call to action, you are giving the audience something they can do.

End With A Quote - A really good quote can bring forth all of the emotions you were hoping to evoke.?

End With A Visual - Just like ending with a quote, ending with a strong visual i.e. picture, animation, etc can drive home your point.??

Crafting a powerful virtual presentation takes time and effort.?However, implementing these 4 strategies will create a powerful public speech your audience won't soon forget!

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This article is part of the?Soulcast Media Newsletter, which has over 8,000+ subscribers. If you like this article, feel free to?subscribe.

Be sure to follow Jessica Chen on?LinkedIn?and?Instagram?for regular communications tips you can use at work immediately!?Her videos can also be seen on?YouTube.

If you'd like to learn more about our communications services and how we work with individuals and companies, check out our website:?www.soulcastmedia.com.?